Now, I realize there are 162 games in the baseball year, and the Rays have only played 22 games (which by my incredible math, is 13.5% of the season)… but SHOW ME SOMETHING. Anything. I mean, there is all this young talent, a good pitching staff… and yet they are sitting around in the cellar of the AL East, 6 1/2 games out of the lead. The only other team that far out of first place is the Washington Nationals who, by almost every standard, are the worst team in the league, and they are only 7.5 games out of first. The Rays are bad both home and away, so there isn’t even a sigh of relief when they head back to St. Petersburg, because there is no guarantee they will play better with a home field advantage! Something needs to get shaken up. Maybe its time to switch some people out of the starter spots, or bring some guys up from the minors. Either way, even if it is early in the season, the Rays are all too familiar with getting down in the standings early and never be able to get it back.
The Tampa Bay Rays have announced their concert series for the summer. Season ticket holders will have on field access during the events. The concerts are free with the purchase of the game ticket which is a fabulous two for the price of one deal. The cost of these tickets could be as low as thirteen dollars. That is unheard of for most concerts. The shows are: 3 Doors Down- May 30 at 4:10, Ludacris- June 13 at 6:08, Pat Benatar- June 27th at 7:08, Smash Mouth- July 11th at 7:08, Flo Rida- July 30 at 7:38, DAUGHTRY- August 1 at 6:08, The B-52s- August 15 at 7:08, Big and Rich- August 22 at 7:08 and The Beach Boys- September 5 at 7:08. These bands are highly popular and it is a great deal and everyone can see a great baseball game all throughout the summer.
Ever since he was in the minor leagues, Tampa Bay Rays 3rd baseman Evan Longoria has made headlines for his abilities. His first full year in the Major Leagues, he won Rookie of the Year by a long shot, batting .272 with 27 homeruns and 85 RBI. In only 135 games, Evan Longoria hit the century mark. Of the active players in the MLB, Evan Longoria was the third fastest to reach the 100 RBI mark, behind only superstar sluggers Ryan Braun (who took 118 games) and Albert Pujols (who did it in 131 games). According to Bill Chastain of MLB.com, Longoria didn’t even know that he hit a milestone.
“I guess that’s quite an accomplishment,” Longoria said. “Like I said I didn’t come to the park knowing I needed two. But that’s something special.”
Although the Rays are under .500 at the moment, there is a recent bright spot in the organization. The Rays Foundation just recently gave $150,000 to twenty-nine different non-profit organizations in the Tampa Bay area. Some of the organization include the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club of America. The Rays Foundation also gives money through a number of grant programs. The players that have been contributing include Crawford, Iwamura, Kazmir, Longoria, Pena, Percival, Shields and Wheeler. Together these players will give one million dollars through out their contracts. It is very positive to see that the players are using their money to help the youth in the local neighborhoods, these donations help to make a positive impact on the community around Tampa.
Filed under: 2009 Season
After two weeks of play (which is really not nearly enough time to judge the power rankings for a lot of teams) it has come to a point where the Power Rankings are starting to come out. For the loyal readers, here are where the Rays are based on the ESPN, Fox Sports, and CBS power rankings.
On average, these sites ranked the Rays 7th of the 30 MLB teams. At 3-3, I would say the Rays are one of those teams where there just hasn’t been enough time in the season. Sure, they have played some historically good teams and have built on what they did last year, but there is still the chance they were a one year wonder, a fluke, last year. They are scoring a lot on homeruns, which with the players they have, won’t last through the season. Right now, it works, but eventually when the homers die, they are going to have to remember how to play small ball. Pitching has been alright, with a couple good performances that weren’t enough… and a couple of bad performances. That will get better as pitchers get more innings. My assessment: 10th.
The Rays did not disappoint in their last series against the Boston Red Sox. The Rays still proved that they are one of the teams to beat this year. The Rays managed to win the series 2-1. Evan Longoria also proved himself again. He is not having the usual second year slump like so many of the previous rookies of the year. He is batting well over .400 right now. On Friday night, the Rays lost to the Orioles but Longoria still managed to shine with two home runs.
The Rays are going to be playing the New York Yankees on Monday at home. Left-hander Scott Kazmir is going to get the start. Last season Kazmir went 2-1 with the Yankees. With the Rays playing well, there should be a large crowd and a lot of fresh support for the new up and coming team in Tampa Bay.
Filed under: Spring Training
Now, I am a realist and a baseball fan. I know that Spring Training is not always geared towards wins, losses, batting average, etc… But there is a point where you do have to sit down and judge some people based on what they did during spring, especially in the later part, when they should be pretty well ready to play the season. Anyways, here is what I thought about the 2009 Spring Training Season.
Hitting: B-
Of the 13 position players on the active roster, I would say four of them had good springs: Navarro, Barlett, Burrell, and Gross.
Three of the 13 had moderate springs, having some things that needed a lot of improvement: Crawford, Kennedy, and Aybar. These guys had a few more strikeouts and they should have had in their few at bats, especially when they are contact/on base guys.
Pitching: C
This is a position where things get tricky, because often times a pitcher will be working on a fastball for an entire outing, and hitters can just sit on that one pitch and tee off. Even so, this is a statistics-based review, so…
No one was incredible this spring. Lance Cormier was a surprise, throwing in 16 innings, with 12 K and a 1.62 ERA. Matt Garza had a bad spring, with 20+ innings pitched, and 14 runs given up (a 6.10 ERA). There were a lot of home runs given up, which again could be just pitchers working out the kinks, but it still worries me.
Overall: The future looks pretty bright for these guys, as long as they can tighten it up and get their pitching in sync. The hitting was ok enough to make it through, and there is depth in back up roles and minor league systems to support the offense. Pitching has young talent that just plain needs to get more experience.
With the race for mayor heating up, the Rays stadium has come into play. One of the people running for mayor in St. Petersburg, Scott Wagman said that is he is elected he would not require the Tampa Bay Rays to build their new stadium within the city limits. Wagman says that as long as the stadium in built in a place that would benefit the local community and also make the most revenue, it would not need to be in St. Petersburg. The current mayor, Rick Baker, said that the stadium must be built within the city limits. With each mayor’s extreme point of view this could make or break the election. Building a new snazzy stadium could help bring a new crowd to the stadium and drive up revenue. What is important that the stadium is in a good location and has easy access and lots of different transportation options for the fans who are going to the game. There are all sorts of teams that do not have a home field that goes along with their time name for example the New York Jets and the New York Giants play in New Jersey. Just because a team is in a different location does not mean it will affect the fans or how they play.
David Price at his press conference
I am not so sure about this guy anymore. Not because of his ability, or his locker room presence. No, its because of the way the Rays have handled him. He just hasn’t produced the way fans have wanted to see him. In the Rays defense, they are trying to have him work on various aspects of his game rather than impress people, but he is such a big deal in the organization that they need to quit hiding him.
Maybe the reason he was hidden is because he hasn’t been doing too well. In his last minor league start, he gave up six runs in just four innings, letting up three homeruns. Not a good start for the rookie who is supposed to be in the majors by mid-season. So is it maybe time to explore options of keeping him in the minors? Should the Rays look to trades and free agency if he can’t make it to the majors when they expect him to? All signs point to him being a fine pitcher very soon, but it seems like the Rays are relying on his future talent a little too much.
Filed under: 2009 Season, Spring Training | Tags: Bullpen, Isringhausen, Jason
The Rays were working on finalizing one deal to keep Jason Isringhausen in the organization, though not necessarily on the 25-man active roster. And then they were talking Tuesday about another intriguing possibility, as veteran slugger Gary Sheffield was unexpectedly released by Detroit and expressed interest in coming home to Tampa Bay.
The Rays were seeking a creative way to hang onto Isringhausen, the former All-Star closer who’d provide valuable depth to their bullpen but doesn’t want to pitch in the minor leagues.
And they may have found one: adding him to the 40-man roster, and starting to pay his $750,000 salary, but putting him on the disabled list and having him spend a couple of weeks in extended spring training to build strength and improve command, buying time for all parties.
